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managing work
How mucH sHouldI cHarge?
by Lynn Wasnak
If you’re a beginning freelance writer, or don’t know many other freelancers, you may won-der how anyone manages to earn enough to eat and pay the rent by writing or performing a mix of writing-related tasks. Yet, smart full-time freelance writers and editors annually gross $35,000 and up—sometimes into the $150,000-200,000 range. These top-earning freelancers rarely have names known to the general public. (Celebrity writers earn fees far beyond the rates cited in this survey.) But, year after year, they sustain themselves and their families on a freelance income, while maintaining control of their hours and their lives.
Such freelancers take writing and editing seriously—it’s their business.Periodically, they sit down and think about the earning potential of their work, and how
they can make freelancing more profitable and fun. They know their numbers: what it costs to run their business; what hourly rate they require; how long a job will take. Unless there’s a real bonus (a special clip, or a chance to try something new) these writers turn down work that doesn’t meet the mark and replace it with a better-paying project.
If you don’t know your numbers, take a few minutes to figure them out. Begin by choos-ing your target annual income—whether it’s $25,000 or $100,000. Add in fixed expenses: social security, taxes, and office supplies. Don’t forget health insurance and something for your retirement. Once you’ve determined your annual gross target, divide it by 1,000 bill-able hours—about 21 hours per week—to determine your target hourly rate.
Remember—this rate is flexible. You can continue doing low-paying work you love as long as you make up for the loss with more lucrative jobs. But you must monitor your rate of earning if you want to reach your goal. If you slip, remind yourself you’re in charge. As a freelancer, you can raise prices, chase better-paying jobs, work extra hours, or ad-just your spending.’’
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How mucH sHould I cHarge?
“Sounds great,’’ you may say. “But how do I come up with 1,000 billable hours each year? I’m lucky to find a writing-related job every month or two, and these pay a pittance.’’
That’s where business attitude comes in: network, track your time, join professional or-ganizations, and study the markets. Learn how to query, then query like mad. Take chances by reaching for the next level. Learn to negotiate for a fee you can live on—your plumber does! Then get it in writing.
You’ll be surprised how far you can go, and how much you can earn, if you believe in your skills and act on your belief. The rates that follow are a guide to steer you in the right direction.
This report is based on input from sales finalized in 2009 and 2010 only. The data is generated from voluntary surveys completed by members of numerous professional writ-ers’ and editors’ organizations and specialty groups. We thank these responding groups, listed below, and their members for generously sharing information. If you would like to contribute your input, e-mail [email protected] for a survey.
ParTiCiPaTing organiZaTionS
Here are the organizations surveyed to compile the “How Much Should I Charge?” pay rate
chart. You can also find Professional Organizations in the Resources.
• American Independent Writers (AIW), (202)775-5150. Website: www.amerindy
writers.org.
• American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), (972)883-2093. Website: www.
utdallas.edu/alta/.
• American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), (301)294-5303. Website: www.
amwa.org.
• American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA), (212)997-0947. Website: www.
asja.org.
• American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), (215)451-2767. Website: www.
asmp.org.
• American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP), (703)299-0219. Website: www.
aspp.com.
• American Translators Association (ATA), (703)683-6100. Website: www.atanet.org.
• Angela Hoy’s Writers Weekly. Website: www.writersweekly.com.
• Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), (617)825-4400. Website: www.air
media.org.
• Association of Personal Historians (APH). Website: www.personalhistorians.org.
• Educational Freelancers Association (EFA), (212)929-5400. Website: www.the-
efa.org.
137
lynn wasnak
• Freelance Success (FLX), (877) 731-5411. Website: www.freelancesucess.com.
• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), (415)544-4700. Web-
site: www.iabc.com.
• Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), (573)882-2042. Website: www.ire.org.
• Media Communicators Association International (MCA-I), (888)899-6224. Website:
www.mca-i.org.
• National Cartoonists Society (NCS), (407)647-8839. Website: www.reuben.org/
main.asp.
• National Writers Union (NWU), (212)254-0279. Website: www.nwu.org.
• National Association of Science Writers (NASW), (510)647-9500. Website: www.
nasw.org.
• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), (317)927-8000. Website: www.spj.org.
• Society for Technical Communication (STC), (703)522-4114. Website: www.stc.org.
• Women in Film (WIF). Website: www.wif.org.
• Writer’s Guild of America East (WGAE), (212)767-7800. Website: www.wgaeast.org.
• Writer’s Guild of America West (WGA), (323)951-4000. Website: www.wga.org.
LYNN WASNAK (www.lynnwasnak.com) was directed to the market for her first paid piece of
deathless prose (“Fossils in Your Driveway’’ published by Journeys in 1968 for $4) by Writer’s
Market. In the 40 years since, she’s made her living as a freelancer and has never looked back.
138
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
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lynn wasnak
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140
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
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141
lynn wasnak
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142
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
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143
lynn wasnak
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an/
a$2
00/p
age
$135
/pag
e$1
65/p
age
Onl
ine
vid
eos
for c
lient
s$9
5$6
0$7
6n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
144
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Soci
al m
edia
pos
ting
s fo
r cli-
ents
$95
$30
$62
n/a
n/a
$500
n/a
n/a
$10/
wor
d
Tech
nica
l ed
iting
$150
$25
$65
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Tech
nica
l writ
ing
$160
$30
$80
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Web
ed
iting
$100
$25
$57
n/a
n/a
n/a
$10/
pag
e$3
/pag
e$5
.67/
pag
e
Web
pag
e d
esig
n$1
50$3
5$8
0$4
,000
$200
$1,2
78n/
an/
an/
a
Web
site
or b
log
pro
mot
ion
n/a
n/a
n/a
$650
$195
$335
n/a
n/a
n/a
Web
site
revi
ews
n/a
n/a
n/a
$900
$50
$300
n/a
n/a
n/a
Web
site
sea
rch
eng
ine
opti-
miz
atio
n$8
9$6
0$7
6$5
0,00
0$8
,000
$12,
000
n/a
n/a
n/a
Whi
te p
aper
s$1
35$2
5$8
2$1
0,00
0$2
,500
$4,9
27n/
an/
an/
a
ed
Ito
rIA
L/d
esI
Gn
PA
ck
AG
es
Des
ktop
pub
lishi
ng$1
50$2
5$6
7n/
an/
an/
a$7
50/p
age
$30/
pag
e$2
02/p
age
Phot
o b
roch
ures
$125
$65
$87
$15,
000
$400
$3,8
69$6
5/p
ictu
re$3
5/p
ictu
re$4
8/p
ictu
re
Phot
ogra
phy
$100
$50
$71
$10,
500
$50
$2,1
00$2
,500
/day
$500
/day
$1,3
40/d
ay
145
lynn wasnak
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Phot
o re
sear
ch$7
5$2
5$4
9n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Pict
ure
editi
ng$1
00$4
0$6
4n/
an/
an/
a$6
5/p
ictu
re$3
5/p
ictu
re$5
3/p
ictu
re
ed
uc
AtI
on
AL
& L
Ite
rA
ry s
er
VIc
es
Aut
hor a
pp
eara
nces
at
nat
iona
l eve
nts
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$500
/hou
r$3
0,00
0/ev
ent
$100
/hou
r$5
00/e
vent
$285
/hou
r$5
,000
/eve
nt
Aut
hor a
pp
eara
nces
at
reg
iona
l eve
nts
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$1,5
00/e
vent
$50/
even
t$6
15/e
vent
Aut
hor a
pp
eara
nces
at l
ocal
g
roup
s$6
3$4
0$4
7n/
an/
an/
a$4
00/e
vent
$75/
even
t$2
19/e
vent
Aut
hors
pre
sent
ing
in s
choo
ls$1
25$2
5$7
8n/
an/
an/
a$3
50/c
lass
$50/
clas
s$1
83/c
lass
Educ
atio
nal g
rant
and
p
rop
osal
writ
ing
$100
$35
$67
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Man
uscr
ipt e
valu
atio
n fo
r the
-se
s/d
isse
rtat
ions
$100
$15
$53
$1,5
50$2
00$7
83n/
an/
an/
a
Poet
ry m
anus
crip
t crit
ique
$100
$25
$62
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Priv
ate
writ
ing
inst
ruct
ion
$60
$50
$57
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
146
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Read
ing
s b
y p
oets
, fict
ion
writ
ers
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$3,0
00/e
vent
$50/
even
t$2
25/e
vent
Shor
t sto
ry m
anus
crip
t crit
ique
$150
$30
$75
$175
$50
$112
n/a
n/a
n/a
Teac
hing
ad
ult w
ritin
g c
lass
es$1
25$3
5$8
2n/
an/
an/
a$8
00/c
lass
$5,0
00/c
ours
e$1
50/c
lass
$500
/cou
rse
$450
/cla
ss$2
,667
/cou
rse
Writ
er’s
wor
ksho
p p
anel
or
clas
s$2
20$3
0$9
2n/
an/
an/
a$5
,000
/day
$60/
day
$1,1
86/d
ay
Writ
ing
for s
chol
arly
jour
nals
$100
$40
$63
$450
$100
$285
n/a
n/a
n/a
FILm
, VId
eo
, tV,
rA
dIo
, stA
Ge
Boo
k/no
vel s
umm
arie
s
for fi
lm p
rod
ucer
sn/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a$3
4/p
age
$15/
pag
e$2
3/p
age
$120
/boo
k
Bus
ines
s fil
m/v
ideo
scr
iptw
rit-
ing
$150
$50
$97
n/a
n/a
$600
$1,0
00/r
un
min
$50/
run
min
$334
/run
min
$500
/day
Com
edy
writ
ing
for e
nter
tain
-er
sn/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a$1
50/j
oke
$500
/gro
up$5
/jok
e$1
00/g
roup
$50/
joke
$283
/gro
up
Cop
yed
iting
aud
iovi
sual
s$9
0$2
2$5
3n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Educ
atio
nal o
r tra
inin
g fi
lm/
vid
eo s
crip
twrit
ing
$125
$35
$81
n/a
n/a
n/a
$500
/run
min
$100
/run
min
$245
/run
min
147
lynn wasnak
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Feat
ure
film
op
tions
Firs
t 18
mon
ths,
10%
WG
A m
inim
um; 1
0% m
inim
um e
ach
18-m
onth
per
iod
ther
eaft
er.
TV o
ptio
nsFi
rst 1
80 d
ays,
5%
WG
A m
inim
um; 1
0% m
inim
um e
ach
180-
day
per
iod
ther
eaft
er.
Ind
ustr
ial p
rod
uct fi
lm/v
ideo
sc
riptw
ritin
g$1
50$3
0$9
9n/
an/
an/
a$5
00/r
un m
in$1
00/r
un m
in$3
00/r
un m
in
Play
writ
ing
for t
he s
tag
e5-
10%
box
offi
ce/B
road
way
, 6-7
% b
ox o
ffice
/off-
Bro
adw
ay, 1
0% b
ox o
ffice
/reg
iona
l the
atre
.
Rad
io e
dito
rials
$70
$50
$60
n/a
n/a
n/a
$200
/run
min
$400
/day
$45/
run
min
$250
/day
$124
/run
min
$325
/day
Rad
io in
terv
iew
sn/
an/
an/
a$1
,500
$150
$683
n/a
n/a
n/a
Scre
enw
ritin
g (o
rigin
al s
cree
n-p
lay-
incl
udin
g tr
eatm
ent)
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$117
,602
$62,
642
$90,
122
Scrip
t syn
opsi
s fo
r ag
ent o
r fil
m$2
,344
/30
min
, $4,
441/
60 m
in, $
6,56
4/90
min
Scrip
t syn
opsi
s fo
r bus
ines
s$7
5$4
5$6
2n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
TV c
omm
erci
als
$99
$60
$81
n/a
n/a
n/a
$2,5
00/3
0 se
c$1
50/3
0 se
c$1
,204
/30
sec
TV n
ews
stor
y/fe
atur
e$1
,455
/5 m
in, $
2,90
3/10
min
, $4,
105/
15 m
in
TV s
crip
ts (n
on-t
heat
rical
)Pr
ime
Tim
e: $
33,6
81/6
0 m
in, $
47,3
88/9
0 m
inN
ot P
rime
Tim
e: $
12,8
57/3
0 m
in, $
23,3
70/6
0 m
in, $
35,1
22/9
0 m
in
148
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
TV s
crip
ts (t
elep
lay/
MO
W)
$68,
150/
120
min
mA
GA
zIn
es
& t
rA
de
jo
ur
nA
Ls
Art
icle
man
uscr
ipt c
ritiq
ue$1
25$2
5$6
4n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Art
s q
uery
crit
ique
$100
$50
$75
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Art
s re
view
ing
$95
$60
$79
$325
$100
$194
$1.2
0/w
ord
8¢/w
ord
58¢/
wor
d
Boo
k re
view
sn/
an/
an/
a$9
00$2
5$3
38$1
.50/
wor
d15
¢/w
ord
68¢/
wor
d
City
mag
azin
e ca
lend
arn/
an/
an/
a$2
50$5
0$1
40$1
/wor
d30
¢/w
ord
70¢/
wor
d
Com
ic b
ook/
strip
writ
ing
$200
orig
inal
sto
ry, $
500
exis
ting
sto
ry, $
35 s
hort
scr
ipt.
Con
sulta
tion
on
mag
azin
e ed
itoria
l$1
50$3
0$8
1n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a$1
00/p
age
Con
sum
er m
agaz
ine
colu
mn
n/a
n/a
n/a
$2,5
00$7
5$8
98$2
.50/
wor
d37
¢/w
ord
$1.1
3/w
ord
Con
sum
er fr
ont-
of-b
ook
n/a
n/a
n/a
$850
$350
$600
n/a
n/a
n/a
Con
tent
ed
iting
$125
$25
$57
$6,5
00$2
,000
$3,8
1915
¢/w
ord
6¢/w
ord
11¢/
wor
d
Con
trib
utin
g e
dito
rn/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a$1
56,0
00/
cont
ract
$20,
000/
co
ntra
ct$5
1,00
0/
cont
ract
149
lynn wasnak
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Cop
yed
iting
mag
azin
es$1
00$1
8$5
0n/
an/
an/
a$1
0/p
age
$2.9
0/p
age
$5.6
8/p
age
Fact
che
ckin
g$1
25$1
5$4
6n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Gag
writ
ing
for c
arto
onis
ts$3
5/g
ag; 2
5% s
ale
on s
pec
.
Gho
stw
ritin
g a
rtic
les
(gen
eral
)$2
00$3
0$1
02$3
,500
$1,1
00$2
,229
$10/
wor
d60
¢/w
ord
$2.2
5/w
ord
Mag
azin
e re
sear
ch$1
00$1
5$4
7n/
an/
an/
a$5
00/i
tem
$100
/ite
m$2
00/i
tem
Proo
frea
din
g$7
5$1
5$3
5n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Rep
rint f
ees
n/a
n/a
n/a
$1,5
00$2
0$4
61$1
.50/
wor
d10
¢/w
ord
73¢/
wor
d
Rew
ritin
g$1
25$2
0$6
8n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a$5
0/p
age
Trad
e jo
urna
l fea
ture
art
icle
$122
$40
$80
$4,9
50$1
50$1
,412
$3/w
ord
20¢/
wor
d$1
.16/
wor
d
Tran
scrib
ing
inte
rvie
ws
$180
$90
$50
n/a
n/a
n/a
$3/m
in$1
/min
$2/m
in
me
dIc
AL/
scIe
nc
e
Med
ical
/sci
entifi
c
conf
eren
ce c
over
age
$125
$50
$85
n/a
n/a
n/a
$800
/day
$300
/day
$600
/day
Med
ical
/sci
entifi
c ed
iting
$125
$21
$73
n/a
n/a
n/a
$12.
50/p
age
$600
/day
$3/p
age
$500
/day
$4.4
0/p
age
$550
/day
150
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Med
ical
/sci
entifi
c w
ritin
g$2
50$3
0$9
5$5
,000
$1,0
00$3
,354
$2/w
ord
25¢/
wor
d$1
.12/
wor
d
Med
ical
/sci
entifi
c m
ultim
edia
p
rese
ntat
ions
$100
$50
$75
n/a
n/a
n/a
$100
/slid
e$5
0/sl
ide
$77/
slid
e
Med
ical
/sci
entifi
c
pro
ofre
adin
g$1
25$1
8$6
4n/
an/
a$5
00$3
/pag
e$2
.50/
pag
e$2
.75/
pag
e
Phar
mac
eutic
al w
ritin
g$1
25$9
0$1
05n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
ne
WsP
AP
er
s
Art
s re
view
ing
$69
$30
$53
$200
$15
$101
60¢/
wor
d6¢
/wor
d36
¢/w
ord
Boo
k re
view
s$6
9$4
5$5
8$3
50$1
5$1
4060
¢/w
ord
25¢/
wor
d44
¢/w
ord
Col
umn,
loca
ln/
an/
an/
a$6
00$2
5$2
06$1
/wor
d38
¢/w
ord
65¢/
wor
d
Col
umn,
sel
f-sy
ndic
ated
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$35/
inse
rtio
n$4
/ins
ertio
n$1
6/in
sert
ion
Cop
yed
iting
$35
$15
$27
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Editi
ng/m
anus
crip
t eva
luat
ion
$75
$25
$35
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Feat
ure
writ
ing
$79
$40
$63
$1,0
40$8
5$4
78$1
.60/
wor
d10
¢/w
ord
59¢/
wor
d
Inve
stig
ativ
e re
por
ting
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$10,
000/
gra
nt$2
50/g
rant
$2,2
50/g
rant
151
lynn wasnak
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Ob
ituar
y co
py
n/a
n/a
n/a
$225
$35
$124
n/a
n/a
n/a
Proo
frea
din
g$4
5$1
5$2
3n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Strin
gin
gn/
an/
an/
a$2
,400
$40
$525
n/a
n/a
n/a
no
nP
ro
FIt
Gra
nt w
ritin
g fo
r non
pro
fits
$150
$19
$70
$3,0
00$5
00$1
,852
n/a
n/a
n/a
Non
pro
fit a
nnua
l rep
orts
$100
$30
$64
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Non
pro
fit w
ritin
g$1
50$2
0$7
7$1
7,60
0$2
00$4
,706
n/a
n/a
n/a
Non
pro
fit e
diti
ng$1
25$2
5$5
4n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Non
pro
fit fu
ndra
isin
g
liter
atur
e$1
10$3
5$7
4$3
,500
$300
$1,5
97$1
,000
/day
$500
/day
$767
/day
Non
pro
fit p
rese
ntat
ions
$100
$50
$73
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Non
pro
fit p
ublic
rela
tions
$100
$20
$60
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Po
LItI
cs/
Go
Ve
rn
me
nt
Gov
ernm
ent a
gen
cy
writ
ing
/ed
iting
$100
$20
$57
n/a
n/a
n/a
$1.2
5/w
ord
25¢/
wor
d75
¢/w
ord
152
How mucH sHould I cHarge?
Pe
r H
ou
rP
er
Pr
oje
ct
otH
er
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
HIG
HLo
WA
VG
Gov
ernm
ent g
rant
writ
ing
/ed
iting
$150
$19
$68
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Gov
ernm
ent-
spon
sore
d
rese
arch
$100
$35
$66
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$600
/day
Pub
lic re
latio
ns fo
r p
oliti
cal c
amp
aig
ns$1
50$4
0$8
6n/
an/
an/
an/
an/
an/
a
Spee
chw
ritin
g fo
r g
over
nmen
t offi
cial
s$2
00$3
0$9
6$4
,500
$1,0
00$2
,750
$200
/run
min
$110
/run
min
$155
/run
min
Spee
chw
ritin
g fo
r p
oliti
cal c
amp
aig
ns$1
50$6
0$1
01n/
an/
an/
a$2
00/r
un m
in$1
00/r
un m
in$1
62/r
un m
in